Catholic Charities chief executive officer Tim Marx has been presenting “Catholic Charities 101” programs at parishes around the archdiocese to help the public better understand the extent of homelessness locally, what the organization is doing and how people can help.
The number of homeless in Minnesota increased 25 percent from 2006 to 2009, up to an estimated 13,000 people on any given night, according to a Wilder Foundation study done every three years.
“Fifty percent of [Catholic Charities’] resources are now used for managing people in their crisis, just keeping them alive,” Marx said. “And when you’re doing that you’re not doing a very good job of getting people out of poverty or preventing it,” he said. The organization is experienced at getting people out of poverty, but it needs help in the form of donations, prayer and getting the word out to help make the problem manageable.
